Warrior General Games

Round One: Wednesday, September 3, 2008

#1, Queen City Black Cats vs. #8, Montreal Canadiens

These teams met in Week 6 with the Black Cats getting the better of the Canadiens 41-0. Queen City was in the middle of their 10-game winning streak and looked nearly unbeatable. Montreal earned a close victory over the Salty Dogs in Week 1 and were beaten handily by the Sudbury Spartans in Week 3. This Week 6 matchup was going to set the tone for the rest of their season, and for the most part they won when they were expected to and lost against the teams we thought would beat them. Can they pull of an upset now like they did in their 27-20 victory against Nebraska? It doesn't seem likely after allowing 501 yards of offense while producing just 119.5 the last time these teams met. Ben Jeudah broke loose for 188 yards and 5 touchdowns...and while I don't expect he'll hit those numbers again, it may be he & Taylor Nixon that seal this one for Queen City. Final Score: Queen City - 30, Montreal - 13

#2, Sudbury Spartans vs. #7, Red Deer Blue Elk

Just like the blowout above, the Spartans crushed the Blue Elk (38-0) when these two teams met in Week 13. Sudbury finished strong with 8 solid wins to close the regular season while Red Deer's only loss in their last six games came at the hands of this week's opponent. The Spartans ground game churned out 373 yards and four touchdowns then, and it doesn't look like they'll be contained much better this time. For my money, the Sudbury Spartans are the favorite to win the Eastern Division this year and it begins with a win against the Blue Elk. Final Score: Sudbury - 34, Red Deer - 10

#3, Halifax Hashishim vs. #6, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force

With a chance to contend for a higher playoff seed, the Halifax Hashishim come into this rematch licking their wounds after dropping Week 16's contest to the Winnipeg Warriors. When these two teams battled in Week 8, the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force handed the first loss of the season to their opponent in a 30-17 reality check. Both teams left that game with 7-1 records poised to battle it out for playoff seeding. Halifax ended the regular season at 13-3 and grabbed the number three seed, while Cheyenne Mountain's 12-4 record got them the number six seed. The Air Force's Ryan Farsight connected for 264.5 yards and touchdown throws of 44, 63, and 63.5 yards in the first contest while the Hashishim ran 45 times for 186.5 yards. I think Cheyenne will rely more on the running tandem of RunForest Run and Sweetness ! this time, but will still be able to squeeze out and overtime win off the foot of their kicker. The playoff's first upset...Final Score: Halifax - 24, Cheyenne Mountain - 27

#4, Nebraska Husker Maniacs vs. #5, St. John's Salty Dogs

I'd like to call this the "Game of the Week", but I'd be biased as a Salty Dogs GM. Preseason expectations were great for the St. John's team, but after five games they were sitting at 1-4 in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. The Husker Maniacs dropped a close game to the Hashishim early on but still showed they were one of the Eastern Division's top teams throughout the season despite finishing the second half at just 5-3. The momentum of an 11-game winning streak and improved team chemistry favor the Salty Dogs in this game, but the Husker Maniacs have a higher playoff seed and history on their side. These teams didn't meet in Season 3, so Nebraska holds the series advantage following their 28-10 victory in Week 4 of Season 4. It was the passing of (since replaced) Trowit Long that moved the ball in the first contest while the running backs punched the ball in four times on short runs for touchdowns. With the dramatic turn-around St. John's hasn't scored fewer than 35 points in a game since Week 5, though it might be unrealistic to expect that kind of output against a team allowing less than 13 points per game. Yes, I'm biased, but I expect another victory by the "underdog"...Final Score: Nebraska - 10, St. John's - 28

Round Two (Conference Semi-Finals): Friday, September 5, 2008

Before we get to the business at hand, what happened in the Western Conference? The 1, 3, & 4 seeds all lost to the 8, 6, & 5 seeds (respectively)? Wow, quite the upsets...

#1, Queen City Black Cats vs. #4, Nebraska Husker Maniacs

Speaking of upsets, I (for one) didn't expect to see Nebraska in this game, but a touchdown with 1:52 remaining in the 4th quarter propelled them to a 28-23 victory...bringing to an end the St. John's Salty Dogs 11-game winning streak. Meanwhile Queen City posted the highest score and greatest margin of victory in their opening round win against the Montreal Canadiens. Will the Husker Maniacs pull off another upset, or will the Black Cats continue to maul their competition? When these teams met just three weeks ago (Week 15 of the Regular Season), Queen City dominated after halftime turning a 3-6 deficit into a final score of 24-6. As with the last game (when they rushed for 226.5 yards) I don't expect Nebraska will be able to contain the two-headed monster of Ben Jeudah & Taylor Nixon. If the Husker Maniacs hope to win, they'll need to keep quarterback Phil Mc Cracken off the turf. He was sacked three times last game and threw for just 144.5 yards. I feel that this game may be closer, but the outcome won't change. Final Score: Queen City Black Cats - 20, Nebraska Husker Maniacs - 16

#2, Sudbury Spartans vs. #3, Halifax Hashishim

Both of these teams took care of business in Round 1, with the Spartans showing their dominance in a 34-14 thumping of the Red Deer Blue Elk. The Hashishim didn't "thump" the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force, but with ten 4th Quarter points they earned a hard-fought 22-20 victory behind the leg of their kicker, Kick The Baby. Halifax was able to avenge one of the two losses they were dealt by their Eastern Conference foes during the regular season, and this matchup gives them the opportunity to address the other. When these teams met in Week 11 Sudbury got a decisive 27-12 win that established them as one of the Eastern Conference's top teams. Four field goals by aforementioned Kick The Baby were all the points the Hashishim could muster despite their 251.5 yards of total offense. Two touchdowns by Ryan "Buckeye Pwner" Brewer propelled the Spartans whose 296 offensive yards were near equal rushing (155.5) and passing (140.5). Offensive balance, homefield advantage, and a killer instinct will propel the Sudbury Spartans to victory and will set up a #1 vs. #2 showdown for the Eastern Conference championship next week. Final Score: Sudbury Spartans - 17, Halifax Hashishim - 14

Round Three (Conference Finals): Sunday, September 7, 2008

#1, Queen City Black Cats vs. #2, Sudbury Spartans

As predicted, we're going to get a heavyweight matchup between the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference. Let's take a look back at the road each took to get here. The Queen City Black Cats finished the regular season at 14-2 with their only blemishes coming against the #3 & #5 playoff seeds, the Halifax Hashishim and the St. John's Salty Dogs. Likewise the Sudbury Spartans finished the regular season at 14-2 with their only losses coming against the #1 seeded Queen City Black Cats and the #6 seeded Cheyenne Mountain Air Force. Queen City obliterated the Montreal Canadiens in Round 1 by a score of 69-17 while Sudbury dispatched the Red Deer Blue Elk 34-14. In the second round the Black Cats two touchdowns in the first quarter against the Nebraska Husker Maniacs and never looked back. They claimed victory by a final score of 30-13 behind Ben Jeudah's three rushing touchdowns. Together with his backfield mate, Taylor Nixon, they put up 231 rushing yards against a stout defense. Not to be outdone, the Spartans vanquished their second round foe - the Halifax Hashishim - by pitching a shutout, 17-0. All seventeen of their points came in the first half and their defense limited Nebraska's rushing attack to just 18.5 yards...on 19 attempts! They also registered two sacks and took advantage of cornerback Jayson Kirioku's two fumbles...one on a pass reception, the other on a ball he had picked off.

Now that we've seen how they got here, let's take a look at what happens next. These two teams are the elite in the Eastern Conference, but only one of them will remain here next year...the other promoted to Canada AA #3. It was a battle the last time these two teams met in Week 8 of the regular season, and the crew from Queen City tasted victory that evening with second half field goal the decisive margin 20-17. The teams were tied at seventeen when halftime and when the game was over the stat line couldn't have been closer. The Black Cats amassed 325.5 yards of offense to the Spartans 327, neither team yielding a sack nor an interception. They each rushed the ball 38 times and punted six. The one surprising statistic is that Queen City managed victory completing just 40% of their passes (10/25), including a crucial 11.5-yard touchdown to D Jax. As the season wound down, and since the playoff have started, these are the toughest two teams to score points against. Despite their strong offenses, I expect it will be a sack, interception, or forced fumble that does one of these teams in...and regardless of the outcome, we're going to lose not only a strong team but quality leadership to Canada AA #3. Best of luck to both teams.

Final Score: Queen City Black Cats - 10, Sudbury Spartans - 13

Round Four (Championship Game): Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Eastern Conference #2, Sudbury Spartans vs. Western Conference #2, Vancouver Vindicators

The Eastern Conference Championship Game wasn't a "whoever scores last wins" kind of a shoot-out, but the Sudbury Spartans sealed their victory with a 2-yard run by Ryan "Buckeye Pwner" Brewer with just 0:01 remaining on the clock. When it was over the scoreboard read just as it did last time, 20-17, only the tables were turned and the Queen City Black Cats were on the losing end. An unbelievable 3.9 yard per carry average (210 yards on 54 attempts) was erased by the four fumbles the Black Cats coughed up...three of which the Spartans were able to recover. Both teams completed just over 50% of their passes with Sudbury getting the edge in passing yards 171.5 to 97.5. When it mattered most however, it was short runs by Bull Fack and Brewer that scored their points. In my previous commentary I stated, "Despite their strong offenses, I expect it will be a sack, interception, or forced fumble that does one of these teams in..." and it couldn't have proven more true.

The Western Conference Championship Game featured the Saskatchewan Beavers, a #8 seed, going against the #2 seeded Vancouver Vindicators. Vancouver scored first and traded touchdowns with Saskatchewan until the score was tied at 14 a piece. The Vindicators scored two more touchdowns that the Beavers were unable to answer to provide the final score of 27-14. The stats from this game mirrored the early scoring...near even. Vancouver won the battle for total yards 324-304, rushing yards 115-83, and trailed slightly in passing yards 209-221. Both teams threw an interception and neither lost a fumble. Taking advantage of every opportunity is what has this Vancouver team headed to the AA division next year and in a fight for the Canada A #6 Championship.

Both teams are the #2 seed coming out of their respective division, with the Spartans claiming a 14-2 regular season record versus the Vindicators 13-3 mark. On paper they look like an even match with a slight offensive edge to Vancouver in terms of blocking & rushing, while the Sudbury squad has an edge defensively. During the playoffs the Vindicators have averaged 196 yards per game through the air and another 167.5 on the ground. Over the same three game period, the Spartans are getting 154 per game by virtue of the pass, and another 167.2 when they hand the ball off. On defense Sudbury doesn't give up many passing yards (136.3 per game) compared to Vancouver's rather porus pass defense (243.2 per game). On the ground, however, the Vindicators are the playoff's stingiest team (just 75.3 per game) beating out the rush defense of the Spartans by an average of over 40 yards (116.5 per game). These are two top-tier teams that will engage in an epic battle for the championship. I'm not sure how you measure the will of a team, but it seems as if the Spartans want it badly enough they won't let anything stand in their way. Twice in the playoffs the Vindicators have won by a score of 24-17, and as they did against Queen City, I'm predicting that the Sudbury Spartans will turn the tables and hand them a defeat of equal proportion.

Final Score: Sudbury Spartans - 24, Vancouver Vindicators - 17

lol Gator.....Good write up...nice to see one of the western conference as well

Great write up like usual Gator! Got me excited, there are some good 1st round matchups...

awesome job, wrong score though but still a great job!

hey your previews made the front page of Goal Line Blitz News Canada, congrats bud. That is cool to see A6 represent like that.

http://goallineblitznews.com/canada

Nice work!

Originally posted by Illig INC
awesome job, wrong score though but still a great job!

I noticed you didn't care to offer your opinion of what the final score might be. I'll agree that there's a better than 90% chance I'll get the score wrong, but I'll stick by my prediction on which team will be victorious!

Originally posted by Illig INC
hey your previews made the front page of Goal Line Blitz News Canada, congrats bud. That is cool to see A6 represent like that.

http://goallineblitznews.com/canada

Wow, I didn't even know there was a goallineblitznews.com, I'm honored. I wonder if I can get paid for my submission...?

I borrowed this from the old "Calling Out the Halifax Hashishim" thread. I've been wondering where big_poppa2s and absolvedregicide are...perhaps this will prompt them to chime in.

Originally posted by absolvedregicide
Originally posted by big_poppa2x

not if the we get to smoke them in the playoffs before you.

Fair enough...you have a good point. I can't argue that someone will smoke them in the first round of the playoffs.

Just be warned that you won't win because you guys are good...you'll win because the GLB Gods screwed them.

Absolved, it looks like the Husker Maniacs are going to get first crack at us...in fact, the only way we'll play again in the playoffs is if we both make the championship game.

For the record, Goat123 lives in Southern Louisiana (perhaps New Orleans) and was displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. On our team forum he let us know he'd be evacuating on August 30th...the last day he logged in. He was headed to either Northern Mississippi or the Atlanta area...hopefully he'll check in soon, I'm sure he's missing the trash-talk.

Originally posted by FLGator


For the record, Goat123 lives in Southern Louisiana (perhaps New Orleans) and was displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. On our team forum he let us know he'd be evacuating on August 30th...the last day he logged in. He was headed to either Northern Mississippi or the Atlanta area...hopefully he'll check in soon, I'm sure he's missing the trash-talk.

Gee, I hope he's safe and his home isn't damaged. That said, I don't exactly miss the trash talk, but I wish him all the best in real life.

i've been here all along reading everything. i own a team now so i spend more time with that. all i have to say is i hope u intend to pass because you will not gain over 130 yards rushing against us. final score NHM 34 SJSD 17

Duce!!! Man, I knew there was something wrong. Probably one of, if not the best game in the 1st round and Duce isn't around to give us his thoughts lol. Wish him the best in real life and maybe QC Black Cats will see him on the field soon...

Originally posted by big_poppa2x
i've been here all along reading everything. i own a team now so i spend more time with that. all i have to say is i hope u intend to pass because you will not gain over 130 yards rushing against us. final score NHM 34 SJSD 17

where u at gator. 129.5 yards rushing for yall did i call that or what. althought the score was close i still stuck to my word the whole way through. i will say this great fucking game!